One year and one day ago on May 26, 2015, radio consultant Keith Hill said some stupid comments that will down go down in country music history as Saladgate. Hill said that women were the 'tomatoes' in the 'salad' of country radio, and men were the 'lettuce,' indicating that men like Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton and men in general deserved more airplay than women, regardless on the quality of their music, just because that is what the format called for. However, these false and sexist comments sparked something amazing in country music. People became more aware of the fact that there are so many amazing female country artists that are not being played on country radio, and initiated a distinction between country music and country radio.

The last year has been a better year compared to the years before, with the breakthrough hits from Cam, Maren Morris, Jana Kramer, and Kelsea Ballerini. Carrie Underwood continued to get airplay this year, as well as a minimal amount for Maddie & Tae, but that's it. Currently, the Top 60 songs at country radio include only 9 songs by female artists, and only 2 others featuring female country voices. Take a look at the songs and their chart positions below:

*Note: "Without A Fight" by Brad Paisley feat. Demi Lovato was not included because she is not a female country singer

The point of this post is not to disregard the successes we've had., which there have been quite a few of them. We have had more female-voiced hits on radio, and on Sirius XM Radio and smaller radio stations, there has been an increase of women being played. The love for women of country has grown, and even though artists like Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Mickey Guyton haven't gotten a hit yet (Watch out for Mickey Guyton's new single "Heartbreak Song" coming out next Friday), their fanbases are strong and loyal. People care. They do. Which is why this is still something people need to care about., even though a year has gone by. The fight for women on country radio is not over. Country radio has always been sexist, but it's 2016. It's time for women to not be discredited for their work just because they're women. The quality of music that many women are putting out has been steadily improving, and is becoming exceptional. These next couple years needs to be the time where bland, sloppily written songs are taken off of country radio. Women getting airplay is a large part of that.

So fans, continue to support female country artists. Go to their shows. Buy their records. Buy their songs on iTunes. Get merch. Request their songs on your local radio stations. This starts with you.